You've got to want it to win it

Today we ran just about the most brutal trail I know!  That is actually runnable of course, we have hiked some pretty tough ones as a team before.  6 miles up and back on Guardsman Pass.  Fortunately, my memory has always had me think that the initial hill that climbs 700 feet in elevation was 2 miles, then this time I was thinking 1.5-1.75, but was glad to realize it was just 1.18 :)  Then beautiful scenery to enjoy for the rest of the way.  When we got to 6 we were really close to an overlook into the Park City area so we ran over there to stop and admire the pretty site before turning back.  Although I knew the worst was over, the way back was exhausting.  I almost tripped and barely caught myself, but it was rough and knocked some wind out of me!  By the time I reached the final descent I was by myself and excitedly counting down the quarter miles to go.  With .25 to go I thought how lucky it was that I had almost fallen twice but saved myself.  Then with .15 to go I wiped out.  I sat there and cried for a few seconds before I could make myself get up and finish.  As soon as I reached 12 I stopped and walked the rest of the way back to the cars.  A happy thought about this run; if nationals were a course on this mountain, Natalie and I would win :)

This morning we completed hills week at Cottonwood Complex.  We did an extended warmup out to 4500s and across over to a trail that goes in a big circle and has a lot of plants.  After doing a loop there we went around these baseball diamonds to get out of the park on the other side and cross another street over to a disc golf course.  We saw some bunnies there and they were so cute!  After doing follow the leader for about 2 loops we went over to a pavilion at the top of the hill.  It is like a miniature of the one at Cottonwood.  After stretching for 5 minutes (not 30!) we went to the bottom of the hill and did 10 loops similar to what we do at Sugarhouse, only these are smaller loops.  Then we ran back to the first park we were at, did a lap through some cantaloupe and watermelon crops, and then went back out to 4500s and to the Complex.  Then we got water before going over to run Bessie.  We ran up to the fence, took a minute, and ran back 4 times.  Then we were finished!  Did a 3.5 mile cooldown to get to 12 for the day.

This morning I slept in for a bit before getting up to go on a short run. I signed up for a half marathon last night that starts at 10pm tonight, so this morning was just a shakeout. I ran to the gully for 3 laps and then back home. On the first lap I was disappointed to find that the hole in the fence at the top of the hill was closed off. So I ran back down the hill, across the bridge, and then crossed back over at the next bridge.

Finally come race time, Ben put me on the first bus to the start line.  Its probably a good thing this driver left first, we ended up at the airport and arriving later than some of the buses that left after us.  On the bus I sat next to a guy who ran this race last year so he told me a little about it.  He said it wasn't very competitive since some people kinda get silly with the glow sticks, but I had decided that as long as I paid a high price to get in I was going to at least go for time.  When we got there I warmed up about a mile and then did a lot of strides and drills.  I took 4 of the LED bracelets that they provided, relieved to find out that if you pushed the button 3 times it would just be on and not flashing!  I'm not epileptic, but these bracelets were annoying.  I also had three of my own glow bracelets, and I set my Garmin to be lit the whole time too.  When the race started I was standing next to a guy who also looked like a serious runner with a Garmin and few glow items.  I was right, when the race went out we took the lead.  We were together the first 2 miles of the race, which was good because if I wasn't with him I would have gone straight instead of making a left to go under a bridge.  I had even asked the race director if he had a course map I could look at, but he just said it was straight.  Straight my @$$#^.  Maybe for someone who runs this trail a lot it would be easy to know the way, but not me.  At around mile two the guy I was with picked up the pace (we were going between 6:30-45ish and he seemed comfortable with it, and I knew it was PR pace so I was ok with it to start and conserve).  I knew I could probably stick with him if I pushed, but since there were 11 miles left in the race I didn't want to try to go with him and then be out of gas for the duration of the race.  I told myself I would just try to keep the pace I was at and not get thrown off by him picking up speed.  Eventually he became just a silhouette in the distance and then I couldn't see him anymore.  At one part on the trail there were some people with a horse, the shape of the horse in the dark was a little frightening.  Eventually I came to another bridge that I had to go under, and I was really hoping that it was the right way because there was also the option of continuing straight.  I confirmed that it was the right way when I came to the next water station.  They really should light those up more because you can't see them from more than 100 meters away.  And if they aren't calling out water versus powerade you can't tell what you are grabbing.  Eventually I came to a part of the trail that crosses a road and was surprised that no race people were there to stop traffic (though there wasn't any so I guess it didn't matter) but on the other side of the street when I continued straight I ended up on a path that was not paved.  It went into some trees and then the bushes got thicker and thicker, and then I was really scared and was not going to keep going that way alone.  I burst into tears at that point and ran back the other way.  When I got back to the road I realized that the path continued to the right (now left) of before but I missed it because it was so dark.  The next water stop was just a little bit more ahead.  I wish they could have moved at least one person down to that corner so that 19 year old girls running by themselves wouldn't get lost and scared.  I kept going and maintained my pace pretty well.  It was a bit of a relief to get to the 10 mile mark where the 10k turnaround is, I was able to catch some of the walkers on that course.  At one point I looked to my left and saw cows!  That was a little scary, but they weren't as close as the cows get at Jeremy Ranch.  Getting to the 5k turnaround was another relief, and I was happy that I was so close and still feeling so strong.  Finally I got to the guy with the batons pointing to the "only turn" on the course.  Then it was back to the fairgrounds to the finish where my parents, brother, and Ben were there to cheer me on.  I was so happy to be finished but still burst into tears again because I had been so frightened being alone out on that trail most of the way and being in darkness.  I finally cheered up when they did awards and I got a sparkly tiara.  Which I accidentally broke when I was trying to get it unstuck from my hair later.  Also when I was up on the awards stand, the girl who got third turned out to be the aide for my physical therapist, that was cool.   

This morning after sleeping in as much as I could (my sister called at 8:30, too early for all of us after getting home at 1 in the morning!) I ate breakfast and then got ready to go run at Pipeline.  I hoped it would be cooler up there, which it wasn't much but at least there were cool breezes.  I ran out to rattlesnake and back.  I wasn't that sore, but kept the pace relaxed and easy.  My lack of soreness tells me that I am a lot stronger than the last times I ran halfs, and I am capable of putting out a lot more effort.  Last night wasn't the time to try to go crazy though, next time I do a half I want to find one that has competition to pull me along and make me work harder.  After I finished I stretched for a good several minutes before heading back down the canyon and to find the top-it in Holladay which I have never been to.  I found it pretty easily, I must have fro-yo radar or something.  It was delicious.  And as I was leaving I saw a lot of princesses going there for a birthday party!  So cute :)  

This morning I got up and went for a run by myself.  I ran to Sugarhouse, did a clockwise lap, and then as I was coming around to complete the lap Tomy was going the other way so asked me to join him.  I did another lap with him and then when I got to the corner at 2100s and 17th I turned and continued on the route I had chosen.  I ran up to 1900e over to 1300s, and then up to Wasatch Drive.  From there I ran over up above the zoo and then down Sunnyside.  At Foothill I turned and ran down the curve to 500s.  At Guardsman I turned and ran home.  Then I stretched for a long time before doing my PT followed by some foam rolling.  Such a nice feeling being able to do this now without having to worry about what I need t o do before work since I quit :)  

This morning I went for a lone 13 miler.  I ran to Sugarhouse and did a lap on the road, and then did 10 loops on the small hill going down to the pond.  I saw Maple Mountain's team there, a few of them said hi to me since I guest spoke for them last year when they came up to Sugarhouse for a run like they did today.  After I finished my hills I did the cemetery loop with one loop in the cemetery, and then finished at home with 13.  Afterwards I did countdown abs.

Today my sister and I went out to Cottonwood Complex.  For warmup we did the usual lap around the baseball field and then the loop around the hospital and then to 45th.  Then we did some strides before a 3 mile tempo on the region course.  I finished in about 21:40.  At that point I needed 5.4 miles to get to 12 so we ran to the park by the cantaloupe crops and disc golf course for cooldown.

For the evening I ended up joining Natalie for a run when my sister and I texted about hanging out.  We didn't really know where we wanted to go so we grabbed a penny and did a coin toss to determine turns.  We ended up going to Sugarhouse, doing a lap around the perimeter, and then going back to Natalie's house.  As we were finishing, Bill turned the corner in search of bikes to take up to Jeremy Ranch tomorrow.  Too bad I have physical therapy and can't make it :( 

This morning I got up early to get my run done before going to physical therapy.  Last night I realized school starts a week earlier than I thought it did, so I allowed myself to take my iPod since next week is team camp and I will have to run without it then anyway.  From my house I ran down 1300e to South Temple and then cut up to Virginia Street to 11th Avenue.  I stopped to stretch at the top of the hill before continuing.  I ran up City Creek to 5.5 and then ran back home the way I came.  Good thing I started as early as I did because with my stretching break and stops at lights I had 15 minutes to get to PT.  I got a few new exercises to do and  level ups on some others. 

This morning I went to Liberty with the group since my days are numbered to when I return to camp :(  We started with a lap warmup and then stretched for a few minutes while we regrouped.  Then we ran on 500e out to 3300s, did a mile of speedchanges on Granite's track, and ran back to Liberty on 500e.  Back to the drinking fountain was about 5 and a quarter so Kiley and I ran out some and back to finish at 10 for the morning.  Did PT when I got home, really worn out.

At night we played golf!  But running!  After a mile out and back on Wasatch for warmup, we shook dice to determine where we would start; yellow, white, blue, or black.  Only girls were allowed to get yellow, except for me :P  But I didn't ever roll one, we rolled for 6 but weren't sure how much time we had.  I got blue, white, blue, blue, black, black.  Before each one we set up a cone to mark the finish and the green so we wouldn't run on it.  We scored like cross country, in order of finish at the cone, and low score at the end wins.  I got 7, 7, 8, tie for 6 (5.5), and 9... (if I remember correctly, but I took 8th out of the 10 of us there).  It was a lot of fun, except when we got to the last hole I looked down to see worms everywhere! Then they all disappeared back into the earth faster than I've ever seen any worm move before :P  it was so disgusting and I did not like standing on them :P  Next time I think we can skip this area with all the worms :(  For cooldown we ran back to the cars, I finished at 6.5. 

This morning I grabbed my iPod and went for the run that gives me a new record for my highest mileage week of 80!!! :)  Not that I'll be running this much again for a while, but it has been years in getting to this point :)  I ran up 1300s to Wasatch Drive, over to the drinking fountain on Foothill, down to Guardsman, over to Sunnyside for 2 laps, and then home along 1700e and back down 1300s.  I think I might need to take a break from PT today... or maybe I'll do some later.  Yesterday was pretty painful.

This morning I went on my final run of the summer before reporting for cross country cap tomorrow.  For warmup with the group we did a lap around Sunnyside and then continued down to the track at East.  There we did a mile and a mile of speedchanges, bringing total warmup to 3 and a half.  Then we did 12 400s.  I was able to hang with Natalie for most of them so it was nice to work together.  The first one was 1:25, we struggled getting out well with there being so many of us.  The next ones I hit 1:20, 1:20, 1:20, 1:21, 1:20, 1:20, 1:20, 1:20, 1:20, 1:20, 1:20.  Talk about consistency.  Definitely achievable, and great for not having done something like this for a while.  I hope during cross country I don't get held back during workouts like last year.  When we finished we cooled down back up to Sunnyside for water and then did the VA loop.  With Bill, Chris, and Tomy I did a lap in the cemetery and then went down to 1300e and over to Sunnyside to go back up to the park, where we finished with a lap around the tennis courts to get to a full 12 for the day.  

This morning we had to wait half hour after our compliance meeting before meeting for our run.  I did most of my PT during that time, so it wasn't a complete waste of time, but I didn't get to do all my miles like I had hoped.  With the group we ran out on Foothill and then over to the Bonneville gully to do laps.  The creek is all dried up at the bottom.  After doing 2 laps there, the other girls returned and Hilary and I kept going for our mileage.  We ran to Sunnyside Park next and did a lap there, and then went over to the cemetery for a loop there before running back up to HPER.  When we got there we did 8 strides up the hill by the Huntsman Center, and then finished to 8.  And I just remembered that I forgot to add on at the end what my Garmin missed at the beginning, so I guess I can take that part off of my second run tonight...  In Eden. :) 

In the evening we went up to the campgrounds by North Fork for a short run.  We ran the loops that go around a lot of the campgrounds.  By the end I was with Hilary so we finished when we reached 13 for the day. 

This morning we went for a run on the trail by Pineview Reservoir.  We started out on the trail and then half mile in ran into nowhere after running through some tall grasses and drenching our socks, and then we had to run back through it to find where the trail went.  We were supposed to turn on a bridge, but our photographer was there the first time so I didn't really think and just ran straight.  Back on the trail though it was a great run.  I was with Hilary and Kep until a little bit past 3 miles, and then Hilary and I turned around.  We added some at the end to get to the full 6.  Then we did a lot of strides for our camera man.  Did PT back at the condo.  We have a tempo run this afternoon.

This afternoon we did our workout starting from Eden Park.  We warmed up out a mile and back on the road, and then did our strides and drills and changed shoes.  We had 2 groups, one for 800s and one on 1200s.  I went with the 1200 group.  Hilary and I decided we'd tell ourselves we were doing 5.  The first one I stayed with Bekah and we ran 4:41 (1:33, 3:09), then on the second I hit 4:28 (1:29, 2:59, also most uphill out of all of them), and then I finished back with 4:36 (1:31, 3:04) and 4:34 (1:29, 3:03) for the last 2.  I was really tired during the last one so decided to be done.  I'm glad I broke out and went the pace I felt was better for me at this time.  I also liked that we ran the first two out and the last 2 back, it made it seem to go by quicker.  Then we changed shoes back and Hilary and I went on a 4.75 mile cooldown.  We ran down the road that the park is on first, but after that turned out to be a dead end we turned on the way back and ended up out on the road we had been doing the 1200s on.  We almost made it to the turn towards Huntsville before turning around.  On the way back when we were almost to the Valley Elementary we were really hot and there was an irrigation ditch (thanks Ben for the vocabulary) right there on the side of the road so we had to splash ourselves to cool off.  That made the rest of the cooldown go by much quicker :)   

This morning we slept in for a little bit before leaving at 9 to drive to Snow Basin to run.  Heading out on the trail a biker told us there was a black bear sighted there yesterday so we were alert of that.  I went out right behind Amanda and Kep, and couldn't keep up with them very long before I was by myself.  We went on the trail that goes towards green pond first, and then turned at about 2 miles where it goes steep down and then steep up so we could run on the trail that goes the other way.  It is actually a loop, but after Amanda and I were both startled by the sudden appearance of a lot of cattle on the trail (we both panicked that they were bears at first!) we were glad we were able to just turn around there and head back to the cars.  Then I needed another mile and a quarter to get to 6 so I ran up the road to a gate and then back.  Afterwards we enjoyed a nice swim in the lake over by Huntsville :)

We did a hill workout this afternoon.  We warmed up on the road at the North Fork campsites and then turned and ran on a trail.  It was pretty flat for a bit, and then went down and connected with one of the loops we had run on Tuesday.  We took the road back to the cars and then did modified drills with our strides.  The workout was sets of hills, first a 100 with walk back, then a 100 and back with a 200, and so on building up to a set ending with a 400.  My hips feel sore from the PT stuff I do only on hills, so I lagged behind the group most of the time.  Towards the end we sort of split up and Kep changed some of ours.  For the last set on mine he didn't want me to do the 400 after I finished the 200 of that set so we compromised and I did a 300 followed by a 100.  It felt so great to be done!  For cooldown we did backwards what we did for warmup, then Hilary, Amanda, and I decided we'd run down and meet the others at the gate so we wouldn't have to run back uphill for our cooldown.  It was only a half mile and we still needed another mile and a half, so we decided we would just run it all down the road and hope that they would have enough sense to drive down and find us after a while.  We finished, and then we waited, and waited, and waited.  Finally we started walking back up to see if we might see them coming.  They did, and it turns out they thought we'd have enough sense to finish at the gate like we said.  I guess we were all senseless today, but at least they were relieved to have finally found us and to finally be on the way back for dinner.   

This morning we got up early and ran on the trail by the reservoir again.  I started out quick, hoping to keep Amanda company for a little bit but that didn't last long.  At around 3 miles Hilary caught up to me so we kept going once the trail ended and crossed the highway to run up on Skyline.  We stopped at 4 to stretch for a minute before heading back the same way we had come.  On the way back I was really tired, I think I haven't been getting enough calories at camp.  Fruits and veggies are great, but I definitely miss fro-yo and ice cream...

In the evening I did my PT before going for a 4 mile run with Natalie.  We ran out on 1700e to 900s, up to Foothill until it turned to 2100e over to 2100s and back along 19th east.  It was kind of weird when we finished and realized it will be our last time running together for a while.  It has been wonderful having her as a training partner the past few years and I'm going to miss her when she goes down to the Y but I am excited to see how she does in college and hope to be able to keep up with her afterwards :) 15 minute ice bath when I got home. 

This morning we had a long run up on Pipeline.  I ran with Hilary the whole time, Giselle was with us on the way out and Nikki was with us on the way back.  We played 20 questions with Disney characters to make the time fly.  After getting back to the cars, Hil and I grabbed water and then ran up the road to get back on the trail and head back down the switchbacks.  We were at 14 right when we got to the bottom of the last one, then ran the rest of the way to not make our teammates wait any longer, then I just had to add that .1 to get to 4.25.  When we got back to campus I did a 1o minute ice bath with Kate and Giselle.  So glad this is my only run today!

First day of school!  Having just 2 classes that are each less than an hour was a great way to start the day :)  when I came back to campus later for practice, I did my PT and then when I got back to the locker room saw my name on the board to go talk to Hanah... the results of the blood testing came back and my ferittin is 22 so guess who is going to be getting tested every 4 weeks until it gets back up :(  I started on my run with Megan and Giselle.  We ran up Legacy Bridge and through upper campus up to Shoreline Trail over to Drycreek.  Megan and I decided to go up a bit, but then she turned so I was by myself.  Not wanting to run the rest of the way on the trail for lack of water, I turned before getting very far.  On the way back a bee flew up my nose, it was gross!  Next I ran down the road that connects to 11th Ave. and ran to the drinking fountain by the fire station.  I wasn't feeling like 11th today so I ran back and then down Virginia Street.  When I got to 100s I ran up and then through campus, over along Guardsman, threw in a lap at Sunnyside to get water, then down to 1300e, over to 500s, a lap in the cemetery, and back to the locker room.  

We had our first lift this morning with our new coach.  We did some glute stuff there so I didn't worry about doing my PT today.  I like this guy so far since he isn't going to push us into the Olympic lifts unless he knows we are absolutely ready.  This afternoon for workout we did hills at Red Butte.  We did our usual warmup up on the trails with our substitute drills for not wanting to lay down on the dirt.  We did a similar workout to last week's hill day at camp.  We did a 200, then a 200 and a 300, followed by 200, 300, 400, and finally 200, 300, 400, 500.  Recovery was walk half and then jog half.  I was in a group with Hilary, Lauren, Nikki D., and the two girls that are trying out.  The workout was hardest at the first for me, but we adjusted to different paces for the different lengths of the hills which really helped.  It was also nice to be broken into groups so we could run at a comfortable level for us an not have to worry about the other girls breaking away and having that shatter our confidence.  When we finished, I cooled down with Hilary a little bit up the road to pick up the cones and then we went north on Drycreek until it was too windy to continue, then we just turned around and ran back to Red Butte and then looped around upper campus until we were at 10.  Towards the end I started to notice that my right calf was hurting really bad on the outside, more above my ankle, and it hurt worst every time I would start and stop.  I think it is from one of the drills this morning so if we do that one again I will be careful.

I graduated from physical therapy today!  I will just continue to do the exercises a few times a week because my hip hasn't hurt in a while.  So great to have positive news after being put on the iron protocol.  For practice it turns out most of the girls ran earlier so at 2 I ran with Alyssa and Charlotte.  Fortunately the clouds kept it from being too hot.  We did the zoo loop, and then I showed them where the bailiff was so they could do strides.  I wasn't feeling up to it since I was cramping pretty bad, but I was planning on a second run tonight anyway so I think I will do them then.  

This evening I grabbed my iPod and went for a nice 7.5 mile loop.  I started out on 1300e over to 500s, up to Guardsman to Sunnyside, then on 19th east over to 2100s, clockwise lap at Sugarhouse and then home.  Amazingly, the only time I had to stop was at the light at Sugarhouse on the way home.  It was a very nice night out, and I even saw my dad and brother out for a bike ride when I was coming home from Sugarhouse.  I had such a nice time, I forgot to do my strides... oh well :)  I did have a nice stretch afterwards though. 

This morning we had our second lift of the season.  It was a bit tougher than the first time, but I definitely feel like we got some good work in :)  For workout this afternoon we did threshold at Liberty.  We warmed up from Trax on 9th to Liberty, then I added about to the corner and back before joining the team for our drills and strides.  Then we changed shoes and Kep grouped us up for the workout.  It was 4-6 1 mile repeats with 80 second recovery, five 200s afterwards.  He told me to try and hit 6:05-6:10 so I decided I'd go with it since I think the most repeats for miles I've ever done was 3... The other girls in my group had a target about 10 seconds behind me so though I wasn't exactly able to work with them I could still hear them which helped.  The first one I hit 6:04, then 6:05, followed by 5:59, and then 6:09 after which everyone else was done but I decided I'd go for one more and hit a 6:02.  That was the hardest one but Amanda rode her bike on the sidewalk and was calling out words of encouragement which really helped.  She told me that towards the end my form was starting to go crazy so I knew it was time to be done, but I'm glad I went the extra mile (no pun intended) and was able to work hard even when I was tired.  Afterwards I did my strides back to the cars, changed shoes, and then rather than go back to Trax I decided I'd run home for cooldown, so I ran to 1700s and up to 14th and then home, finishing at 10.5.

Today for our run we had a larger group than the usual which was great :)  Together we ran down Guardsman and 1500e to Sugarhouse, then everyone went their separate ways depending on what their need for the day was.  I did 2 laps around the perimeter of the park and then went up to 1900e and took that all the way over to Sunnyside.  I did my strides there because it is a lot easier to decide not to do them on campus than in the middle of a run.  When I finished those I ran up Sunnyside Avenue to Foothill and went back to campus that way, and I was able to avoid the hill up South Campus Drive. :)

This morning the team went for a long run up in Park City.  It was a bit chilly when we started but fortunately it is still early enough in the season that at least we warm up.  We stayed as a group pretty much the whole time, people would just turn around as they needed to get their miles.  Kate was with me up to 5 and a quarter mile, then I just had to run out one more mile on my own before heading back the same way.  The way back is always faster though so I enjoyed it.

This morning after class I went ahead and went for my run because the rest of the day is reserved for Ben since today is the last day I get to see him before he goes to the MTC on Wednesday :'(  I ran to Sugarhouse, did a clockwise lap, left the park at 1700e and started on the cemetery loop.  After doing the normal route right before I hit Imperial Street I decided I didn't want to run anymore so turned left and ran home.  When I got back to Sugarhouse I couldn't resist so I turned into the park for part of another clockwise lap.  Then I didn't feel like running back up to 1500e so I ran home along 13th and then added an extra half mile at the end to get to 9.  Then Ben surprised me with red roses :)

This afternoon we did 400s at the park on 13th East and South Temple.  We warmed up there weaving through campus to add distance but also to avoid going straight downhill to get there.  We did our drills and strides in the shade, and then changed shoes.  Since our strides were a bit short Kep made us do some longer ones before starting the workout.  He wanted us to do between 12 and 16 400s.  We started on the lower field, cut diagonally across it, up the hill to the upper field, around, and then back down and finishing back on the lower field.  If we were doing these on the track I would have been supposed to hit 77s, so he told me to try to go just above 80.  I led the first one and finished in 1:26, and after that I think everyone realized we needed to pick it up because the next 2 were 1:24 and 1:22.  We all stayed together which helped because we could work with each other but also had to do the work as crowded as we might be in a race.  The next one I hit in 1:24, then I don't remember the rest accurately but they went something like 1:25, 1:26, 1:26, 1:27, 1:30, 1:31, the 12th one being 1:33.  Kep could tell I wasn't having a good day and I told him that Ben leaves tomorrow :'(  The team waited for me to change shoes before cooling down back up to the locker room.  Hilary and I ran through the institute parking to give us the extra bit to get to 10 for the day.  When I got home I took a 13 minute ice bath and then grabbed a bowl of ice cream and fro-yo... I emptied out the fro-yo container with one scoop so had to do with ice cream, oh well. ;P

This afternoon when I got to the locker room I found that just about everyone had written messages on the board about running earlier.  So it ended up just being me and Charlotte, but it was nice.  We ran out on Foothill, all the way to 2300e and then to 2100s.  She ran with me down to 1500e but I told her I was running to Cottonwood Complex so wouldn't be going back to campus.  Fortunately we ran 15th last week so when we got there she recognized it.  I kept going and went down to 900e and took that all the way out to 3900s.  Then I cut up to 11th, stopped in the park to get water, and then did the last mile and a quarter out and back on 1300e.  Then I watched Abigail and the other East runners kick pockets at pre-regions :)

This afternoon we had a workout at Liberty.  Unfortunately, right after we got on Trax to go down to Trolley, we realized we had left our girl that is trying out as she had went to her car to get her ucard and we didn't see her on our way out... We warmed up running on the median in 600e over to the park, and then Hilary and I ran to the drinking fountain and back.  Then we were all relieved to see the girl we had accidentally left pull up, we were so glad she made it!  She jumped in our strides and drills with us, then warmed up a few more minutes while we waited for Kep to be done pacing Amanda for her workout.  Our workout was a mile, a mile and a half, a mile, and two 800s.  I was supposed to go with Andrea and we were trying to hit about 6:10 pace.  We relaxed too much the first mile and hit 6:27.  We picked it up on the second one, I finished in 9:14 and Andrea and Giselle were just a bit ahead of me.  For  the next mile I got 6:11, and then we did the 800s in 3:00 and 2:59.  Mentally it was a much better workout than Tuesday; I think Kep had me go slower than last week today partially because of my workout Tuesday.  For cooldown I ran to the drinking fountain again with Hilary and then we ran to the Trolley Trax station to finish our cooldown at 9 for the day.

This afternoon for practice it was me, Hilary, Andrea, and Lauren.  Since we were doing a premeet and it was a shorter run anyway, we went on Foothill.  Lauren is having ankle issues so she wasn't able to come very far, and Andrea turned at 12 minutes, but Hilary was with me over to 1700s and 2300e.  Then I cut down to 2100e and ran that back to campus.  My calves hurt during this part because it is such a gradual climb, but I guess it's good to run this soreness out before tomorrow.  Back at campus I went to the bailiff to do my strides and decided to do them barefoot :)  I did 6 strides and felt awesome, then finished with some drills.  I topped it all off with a 15 minute ice bath.